Bunny #1
Bunnies 3... My bunny pack
As you probably know if you have been following along, we had our Robin nest and 3 babies grow and leave me with an empty nest. Right behind the empty nest was the baby bunny who we tried to save from the cold and rainy weather and failed. Well the storms had stopped for a while, just long enough for God to send us a mommy bunny who nested right next to Mikayla’s house. It was Mikayla’s own animal garden. Once momma nested the storms returned in full force. I checked the nest daily….I only wish I took photos as we went along. Momma finally had her babies. In fact she had 6 at least that is what I found. I checked on them and held them daily, making sure mommy was doing her part and nature was not ruining our second chance of watching more babies grow. I hoped that momma would continue to stay out of the dog/cat yards (our boys were never a threat to momma or babies). I so did not want to see the 6 babes lose their momma. Momma seems really smart, as she stays in only our yard and the one next door that does not have dog or cat. I watched, checked and held the babies daily even while they were still hairless, hoping they would remember my voice and smell and maybe become our friends. That is when the storms started to get really bad, fast heavy down pours with lots of lightening. This might not have been as much of an issue if it were not for our yard becoming a swamp when this happens. After 2 or 3 storms passed for 2 or 3 days the babies still looked like they were doing fine and momma was keeping them fed as they were getting so soft and furry and their ears were finally starting to become pointed and no longer looking like mouse ears. I worried every storm and then it came the really bad wind and heavy rain storm at about 3am I hoped, I prayed they would be okay as the grounds were still saturated from the last storms and I could not imagine how 6 babies could not be drowning in that hole in our swampy back yard. The morning came and the weather started to get better…I went to the nest with a bad feeling inside. At first sight I thought the nest was empty but with a second look I found just one lonely baby who look scared to death. God gave me my second chance, right away I took him in, not knowing if momma left him or what happened to the family. I checked with my wildlife friend who told me the baby was just 10 grams short of being weaned. I said if I can get some food in him he would probably gain the 10 grams he agreed as it would only take about a day for a baby bunny to gain that much anyway on his own and should be fine with real food. We prayed he would be okay and bought a small cage and necessary things to care for our new little one. After setting things up and getting him tucked into his new home, the rest of the day I prayed I would see momma and the rest of the litter. I continued to check the nest just hoping I would see them all back. It never happened. Later in the evening I did see momma she acted as if she was looking for her children, I was not sure if she was looking for the one I claimed or all of them. If they were of weaning weight I was kind of confused as to why she might look for any of them at all. With more storms on the horizon I did not feel too guilty in keeping her babe with me as he was safer inside with me. If momma would have let me I would have taken her in too. The next day, this now being the Saturday before Fathers Day, was a warm sunny day so I decided to weed the much need garden in the yard… Thank you God!!! We found 2 more of momma’s babies. This at least made me feel less guilty about claiming #1 since momma obviously did not find them and take them home I would guess because they were old enough, unless she just could not find them, either way it helped my guilt. Now this should have made me happy to have found them alive but all it did was make we worry where the other 3 were and if they too, were still alive and alone. Even today I still keep an open eye out for them but all I have found is a clump of fur that made me think that at least one probably was found by someone he should have hid from or ran faster from. This led me to believe the others are gone, alive or dead I will never know but all the same gone. This of course does not stop me from looking in the empty nest or watching the garden for movement or watching every step I make in the grass or seeing how momma still stays close by every night. The other side of the story is we now had 3 little bunnies in a very small cage that was meant for one… along with not knowing if any one of them is eating. This brings me to today, Monday, the day I went back to the pet store got the bigger cage (much bigger as it was all they had) and put screen around it as the wires were spaced to wide, allowing the babes a way out. Once the new larger cage was set up I introduced the babes to their new home. They really seemed to like the extra space. At this point I have come to the conclusion that I have two identical bunnies and one smaller, possibly the runt of the litter. I don’t remember at this point, but it makes me wonder if the runt was the one still in the nest. I am guessing not, as he is not as comfortable with me as the other two are and I have held them all just as much unless the runt was missed maybe being at the bottom of the pack in the nest. It was hard to make sure I touched and held them all, have you ever seen how they pack themselves in the nest/hole??? Anyway, I do know that at least one is eating. It could be all of them or it could be just two it is hard to tell at this point. I have seen twice now grass hanging out of a larger bunnies mouth was it the same one, I can not be sure. I can not tell you if the runt is eating at all. I can only pray he is. I hold all three for at least an hour every day and know they are getting bigger. I thought of names but I am not sure if they are boys or girls yet. My choices are Jack, Peter, Ruby, Louise, Max and maybe The Bunny Scout Leader. Why these names you ask? I am sure you can figure out the Jack and Peter… but the rest come from Max and Ruby a children’s TV show and children’s books. Mikayla likes the show and the books a lot as they teach things like sharing, listening and more and Max always gets in trouble while Louise his sister teaches him. I guess we will wait and see how it goes and if and when we find out their sex we will name them accordingly. Keep checking in and see how they grow. Comment and share some names if you want to share some you think might be cute, I am open to any suggestions. Happy Hopping!
